Abstract
In marketing, competitor profiling is the scrutiny of the strong and weak points of the existing or potential competitors. Understanding strength and weaknesses of a rival organization are essential in developing both defensive and offensive mechanisms that are important in identifying threats and opportunities. In making the competitive profiles, the organizations considered were Montefiore Medical Center and New York–Presbyterian Hospital (Hillestad &Berkowitz, 2004).
Montefiore Medical Center
Overview and operations of the hospital
The hospital is a university hospital of Albert Einstein College of medicine located in Bronx, New York. It is one of the fifty top employers in New York State. It, s a children’s hospital dealing with heart surgery, cancer, endocrinology, cardiology, heart surgery and other 7 specialties. The children’s department of the hospital has 106 beds (Montefiore Medical Center, 2012).
Competitive advantages
Montefiore Medical Center, one of the largest health care providers does not only focus on brand building but also targets different segments of customers and so through differentiation of its services, it attracts a large customer base, giving it a competitive edge (Montefiore Medical Center, 2012).
Competitive weakness
The hospital receives a large percentage of funds from the New York local government and the federal government. In case of financial crisis and when government cuts down its spending, the hospital financial strength is likely to be affected (Montefiore Medical Center, 2012).
Likely competitive moves
The likely competitive moves of the hospital are increasing the scope of its medical services by incorporating alternative medical services and processes in its mainstream operations.
Likely strategic move
The likely strategic move of the company involves merger and acquisition to enable the hospital to expand its facilities and increase its services in other states.
Market share Data
This is based on the number of inpatient and outpatient clients. In 2011, the number of inpatient clients was 90,000 whereas that of the outpatient customers was 784,655 (Montefiore Medical Center, 2012).
New York–Presbyterian Hospital
Overview and operations of the hospital
This is a university hospital affiliated to Cornell University’s Weill medical college and Columbia University’s College of physicians and Surgeons. The hospital is a regional and international referral center and is currently ranked as the sixth best hospital in USA. The children’s hospital deals with heart surgery, cancer, endocrinology, cardiology, heart surgery, and other 3 specialties. The hospital has 646 beds, hence serving a large number of pediatric inpatients (New York-Presbyterian Hospital, 2012).
Competitive advantage
The well motivated and professional physician and other help staff have assisted the hospital from center of excellence. This has enabled the hospital to offer state of art services that only few hospitals offer (New York-Presbyterian Hospital, 2012).
The hospital’s large and developed facilities together with its advanced information and communication technology have played a key role in quick delivery of quality services to the clients.
Competitive Weakness
The competitive weakness is that the centralized nature of its facilities makes it difficult for other potential customers to access its services thus offering other hospitals with decentralized facilities to tap its potential clients (New York-Presbyterian Hospital, 2012).
Likely competitive moves
Increase its presence in America by offering mobile medical services and engaging in outreach programs to raise awareness on its services and facilities.
Likely strategic moves
The likely strategic move is expansion of its facilities especially in European market and third world market. In addition, the hospital can merge and acquire others to expand its services.
Market share Data
The market share data is based on the number of inpatient and outpatient clients. In 2011, the number of outpatient clients was 1,491,981 whereas that of the inpatient clients was 117,853(New York-Presbyterian Hospital, 2012).
References
Hillestad, S. & Berkowitz, E. (2004). Health care market strategy: From planning to action. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Montefiore Medical Center. (2012). About Montefiore Medical Center. Web.
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. (2012). Leading the Way. Web.